Learn to handle angry residents’
Greater ‘pushback’is what MPs mustbe ready to deal with
Lin Yanqin
[email protected]
IF ANYTHING, the angry residents and hard issues involved in the Serangoon Gardens outcry over the siting of a foreign worker dormitory are a sign of challenges ahead for Singapore politicians.
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“In the future, Members of Parliament (MPs) will have to deal with many more such seemingly unpopular issues and policies that have uneven effects on people in general,” said Mrs Lim Hwee Hua, the MP for Aljunied GRC embroiled in that episode. “There will be a greater need for engagement.”
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In an interview with the People Action Party’s (PAP) Petir magazine, Mrs Lim said one conclusion she drew from the saga was that it boiled down to trust. “In the past, we used to engage the people less and they questioned less. Now they want to engage the Government more. That doesn’t mean they trust the Government less, it means that trust has to be continually earned and it has to be the focus all the time.”
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This “greater pushback and disagreement” is something the party will have to come to grips and “move along with”, she said, by engaging more — especially online.
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“We need more Net-savvy members, more activists who can better explain policies and who are continually thinking of new ways of doing things ... :It is more than pure support that we increasingly need. The members must also be able and prepared to handle angry residents,” said Mrs Lim, who is also :Senior Minister of State(Finance and Transport).
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As the final decision about a temporary dormitory in Serangoon Gardens was announced in October, weeks after leaked information sparked protests from residents,Mrs Lim had communicated with residents and tracked feedback through a specially set-up email account, on top of traditional channels likenewsletters and dialogue sessions.
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She had also published the correspondence between herself and the National Development Minister on the issue in the community newsletter, available online at the Aljunied GRC website.
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Over :in Queenstown, where it was recently announced that the former polyclinic will be converted into a temporary workers’ dorm, MP Baey Yam Keng (Tanjong Pagar GRC) said residents “do not seem too overly concerned”.
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:He has visited the residents in the block nearest to the dorm site and dialogue sessions with residents will start next Saturday. “And then we will be talking to the dorm operators to convey some of the residents’ concerns,” he said, adding that all this will be done over the next three to six months.
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:One concern is about security at one of the HDB blocks near the dorm site, as the block is undergoing en bloc redevelopment. “Some of the vacant flats’ windows have been broken, so the residents worry that the workers will break into the empty flats to use the space,” said Mr Baey.Hence, he will seek to have the empty flats sealed off, as well as enhance the block’s lighting.
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:He agreed that having all the issues thrashed out in the media during the Serangoon Gardens episode may have helped address many general concerns about foreign workers. Grassroots leaders this time were also consulted beforehand, so they were ready to address residents’ needs.
Greater ‘pushback’is what MPs mustbe ready to deal with
Greater ‘pushback’is what MPs mustbe ready to deal with
Lin Yanqin
[email protected]
IF ANYTHING, the angry residents and hard issues involved in the Serangoon Gardens outcry over the siting of a foreign worker dormitory are a sign of challenges ahead for Singapore politicians.
.
“In the future, Members of Parliament (MPs) will have to deal with many more such seemingly unpopular issues and policies that have uneven effects on people in general,” said Mrs Lim Hwee Hua, the MP for Aljunied GRC embroiled in that episode. “There will be a greater need for engagement.”
.
In an interview with the People Action Party’s (PAP) Petir magazine, Mrs Lim said one conclusion she drew from the saga was that it boiled down to trust. “In the past, we used to engage the people less and they questioned less. Now they want to engage the Government more. That doesn’t mean they trust the Government less, it means that trust has to be continually earned and it has to be the focus all the time.”
.
This “greater pushback and disagreement” is something the party will have to come to grips and “move along with”, she said, by engaging more — especially online.
.
“We need more Net-savvy members, more activists who can better explain policies and who are continually thinking of new ways of doing things ... :It is more than pure support that we increasingly need. The members must also be able and prepared to handle angry residents,” said Mrs Lim, who is also :Senior Minister of State(Finance and Transport).
.
As the final decision about a temporary dormitory in Serangoon Gardens was announced in October, weeks after leaked information sparked protests from residents,Mrs Lim had communicated with residents and tracked feedback through a specially set-up email account, on top of traditional channels likenewsletters and dialogue sessions.
.
She had also published the correspondence between herself and the National Development Minister on the issue in the community newsletter, available online at the Aljunied GRC website.
.
Over :in Queenstown, where it was recently announced that the former polyclinic will be converted into a temporary workers’ dorm, MP Baey Yam Keng (Tanjong Pagar GRC) said residents “do not seem too overly concerned”.
.
:He has visited the residents in the block nearest to the dorm site and dialogue sessions with residents will start next Saturday. “And then we will be talking to the dorm operators to convey some of the residents’ concerns,” he said, adding that all this will be done over the next three to six months.
.
:One concern is about security at one of the HDB blocks near the dorm site, as the block is undergoing en bloc redevelopment. “Some of the vacant flats’ windows have been broken, so the residents worry that the workers will break into the empty flats to use the space,” said Mr Baey.Hence, he will seek to have the empty flats sealed off, as well as enhance the block’s lighting.
.
:He agreed that having all the issues thrashed out in the media during the Serangoon Gardens episode may have helped address many general concerns about foreign workers. Grassroots leaders this time were also consulted beforehand, so they were ready to address residents’ needs.
Greater ‘pushback’is what MPs mustbe ready to deal with
